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Please be aware that this old REACH registration data factsheet is no longer maintained; it remains frozen as of 19th May 2023.

The new ECHA CHEM database has been released by ECHA, and it now contains all REACH registration data. There are more details on the transition of ECHA's published data to ECHA CHEM here.

Diss Factsheets

Environmental fate & pathways

Biodegradation in water: screening tests

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Administrative data

Link to relevant study record(s)

Description of key information

Isophthalic acid (IPA) has been tested for ready biodegradability by two respirometric methods where the degradation "pass" level that conventionally represents complete mineralisation is 60%.  In a GLP-compliant (Klimisch 1) study based on CO2 evolution (Lebertz, 1991), 85% and 90% degradation occurred within 14 days at concentrations of 10 and 20 mg IPA/L, respectively and the 60% pass level was exceeded within 7 days.  Recovery of CO2 provides a direct and unambiguous indication of the mineralisation of the test substance.  
Confirmatory data (Klimisch 2) are provided by a study performed in fulfilment of the requirements of the Chemical Substances Control Law of Japan (CITI, 1976). In this study, 77.7% degradation of IPA dosed at 100 mg/L was recorded in 14 days by the principal indicator of mineralisation based on oxygen uptake measurements, and further measurements performed in this study indicated 85.3% ultimate degradation based on TOC removal (the "pass" criterion that applies here is 70%). GC and UV-VIS spectrometric analyses showed 100% and 96% loss of the parent substance, respectively, during the 14-d incubation.
These results show that isophthalic acid is readily biodegradable

Key value for chemical safety assessment

Biodegradation in water:
readily biodegradable

Additional information

Isophthalic acid is readily biodegradable and may therefore be expected to undergo rapid and complete mineralisation (transformation to terminal oxidation products without forming stable metabolites) in aerobic compartments of aquatic and terrestrial environments. Extensive biodegradation may also be expected to occur during the aerobic phase of biological waste-water treatment processes. Isophthalic acid is not persistent (not P).